April 9, 2014 at 3:39 p.m.
Banning to teach yoga at School of the Arts
Banning to teach yoga at School of the Arts
By By Daryl Youngstrum-
Banning's class will be offered Saturday and Sunday, July 19 and 20, from 5 to 6 p.m. For students who want a more comprehensive course, they may enroll in the Saturday through Wednesday class that continues through Wednesday, July 23. "Each class session will be similar," she says, "but within each class new poses and stretches will be incorporated at a gradual pace."
Banning has trained in Yogafit, a Vinyasa or 'flow' style of yoga that is meant to be accessible to people who are looking to improve their strength and flexibility rather than to learn complicated, obscure poses. "Being comfortable in our bodies frees us to create without - or with fewer - physical barriers," she says.
"For new students, there is so much to love and to discover about yoga - the flexibility, the breath work, and the strength work - all of these are things that can be taken from the class right into everyday life. Yoga is 'slow but strong medicine,' " she says.
The benefits of yoga increase over time and practice, and beginners will be given an introduction to yoga basics in Yoga for Every Body. "All people are welcome no matter how new or how experienced," Banning says.
"I think for the beginner it takes a few sessions simply to get used to the setting, the room, the ideas, to make the mental switch to a physical activity and to be able to start tuning into him- or herself. The more a beginner can relax and release the need to be or look a certain way while moving through a class, the better."
Physical requirements for these classes are minimal: Banning suggests, as a minimum, the ability to get down onto and back up from the floor and to be aware of one's own physical limitations.
"Students should bring the ability to let go of self-judgment; the willingness to be fully present rather than distracted by the past or the future; the courage to be curious, and the absence of expectations about what yoga 'should' feel like or 'should' be," she said. Quoting a previous instructor, she added "Yoga is like spandex: it looks different on everyone. I really like that."
"Overall, yoga as a physical practice has a lot to offer anyone," she adds. "With time, yoga as a mental, emotional and spiritual practice can bring great peace, balance and depth to life."
For more information on this and other classes to be offered at the School of the Arts at Rhinelander visit
soawisconsin.org. The website also lists registration information including costs, class requirements, and potential financial aid opportunities. School of the Arts at Rhinelander is entering its 51st year in providing college-level instruction in the arts outside the college campus setting and is directed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Continuing Studies.
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